After walking across the graduation stage on May 9, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine students celebrated not only becoming doctors but making history.

They’re the medical school’s 50^th graduating class.

A lot has changed since that inaugural class of physicians graduated in 1977, but some things remain the same including the institution’s mission.

“OSU-COM, formally Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, was founded to educate and train primary care physicians who would then go out and serve rural and underserved communities. And that’s still our primary purpose today,” said OSU Center for Health Sciences President Johnny Stephens.

In fact, of the 153 graduates in the class of 2026, half of them will continue their medical education at primary care residencies and 55% of them matched to a residency in Oklahoma, meaning OSU-COM continues to meet its founding mission more than 50 years later.

Cowboy family

Stephanie Van Nortwick worked in biotechnology innovation and national security for 12 years before she felt called to become a physician after seeing friends and family struggle to find the healthcare they needed.

“I didn’t want the traditional cutthroat, competitive medical school environment. I wanted a place that lifted up everyone and helped each student reach their goals,” said Van Nortwick, one of OSU-COM’s newest alumni and a member of the 50^th graduating class. “It’s amazing to be part of such a milestone. It’s remarkable to even be a part of the college in the first place, because medical school is not easy, so just being here is pretty cool.”

As an OSU medical student, she said she received warm receptions at all her clinical rotation sites.

“It’s an honor to be one of the many physicians that come from OSU. We have a reputation of being kind, compassionate and competent. So many patients I encountered across the state were pleased to learn I was from OSU because they knew I would provide great care,” she said.

Alec Young, another member of this year’s graduating class, said he interviewed at several medical schools and a lot of them talked about community, but none really showed it except OSU-COM.

“I feel like OSU has really provided me with a strong education, both for board exams as well as real-life patient encounters. Also, OSU has great research opportunities,” Young said. “I’ve made lasting relationships with people I’ve met in school that will go for the rest of my life.”

Van Nortwick said being in a class of about 50 students on the OSU-COM at the Cherokee Nation campus in Tahlequah meant they all became like family.

“It has been one of the most challenging journeys I’ve been on but has been fun and fulfilling at the same time. Looking back at the last four years, I think about how supportive the faculty and staff were, how much of a family we all are together and I think that’s an important legacy that the college has, as well as all the investments they make in their communities,” she said.

Dr. Dennis Blankenship, dean of OSU-COM, is no stranger to milestones himself. In 2001, he was part of the school’s 25^th graduating class and remembers similar feelings as Young and Van Nortwick when he visited campus as a pre-med student.

“When I interviewed at OSU it was like ‘That’s where I’m going.’ Maybe 15 or 20 minutes into my interview day I was like ‘I want to be here,’” Blankenship said. “We talk a lot about Cowboy culture and the Cowboy Code, and you see it here. The people care about you; they are truly invested in helping one another. The students, faculty and staff care about each other. From top to bottom, this place is different.”

Impactful growth and change

There’s been a lot of changes to the school and the field of medicine since the first class graduated, including the construction of the Tulsa campus on Southwest Boulevard, which was dedicated in 1977.

In 1988, OCOMS joined the OSU system and became OSU-COM. Nine years later the campus was renamed OSU Center for Health Sciences to encompass the medical school as well as additional graduate programs.

Then in 2020, OSU-COM and the Cherokee Nation partnered to open a new medical school site in Tahlequah, OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation.

“The changes are pretty obvious when you step on campus. The buildings, the simulation labs, the resources and equipment that we have today are just so much better,” Blankenship said.

But some things haven’t changed.

“Physically, it’s just night and day. It’s bigger, there’s more learners on campus with our graduate program students, the physician assistant students, but culturally it’s the same. You still have great people teaching great students. Everybody is driving toward our mission,” he said.

Young said he didn’t realize at the time he was accepted to OSU-COM that he would be part of the 50^th graduating class, he just knew he was joining a medical school with a legacy of serving not only its students, but also Oklahoma communities.

“If you want a program that provides you with a strong education, with ample opportunities for research and that invests in you, I’d say come to OSU,” he said. “Oklahomans have a lot of pride in our history and our people, and I feel that’s the embodiment of OSU. Being able to give back and work with people in our communities, it’s just something I’m very fortunate to have done.”

Incredible discoveries and advancements have been made in the past 50 years, Van Nortwick said, and she knows OSU-COM will be right there on the forefront of medicine for the next 50 years.

“I believe OSU-COM will continue to be the top school in the nation for producing physicians for rural and underserved communities. They will continue to produce cutting edge research that advances the field of medicine and be a leader in shaping the curriculum of medical schools to meet the evolving nature of the field,” she said. “I have no doubt that OSU-COM will be thriving in 50 years, just like it is today.”

Blankenship said when he walks across campus, he thinks about what the future holds for OSU-COM as well as memories of his own time as a medical student.

“I see the students and I watch their relationships with each other, and I think back to my time and my study groups, my friends and the time we spent together. It makes me nostalgic. As hard as it was, I enjoyed that time,” he said. Many of those classmates and friends are practicing in rural communities and working in teaching programs. “They’re impacting lives, they’re training new physicians. They’re caring for people across Oklahoma and across the country. I look at our students and just wonder what they’ll be doing in the future and hope it’s something similar.”

To view videos about the OSU-COM 50th graduating class, visit the OSU Center for Health Sciences YouTube page.